!ndia
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| photo © peter stoeckl |
Calotropis procera.
Genus: Calotropis
Subfamily: Asclepiadoideae
Family: Apocynaceae
Order: Gentianales
Class: Magnoliopsida
Division: Magnoliophyta
Kingdom: Plantae
In the sandy desert soils of Rajasthan, India, this soft wooded evergreen perennial shrub with conspicuous flowers is one of the most common and conspicuous plants. The plant grows up to 2 meters, and its roots are said to reach down to a depth of even 3 meters.
Its fleshy leaves and blossoms can be broken off easily, and a white sap flows whenever the stem or the leaves are cut or broken. This white latex liquid is toxic and may cause blisters on the skin if touched. At the same time, the white sap and other parts of the plant are used as a native herbal medicine, the sap to treat infected wounds, the roots to treat a variety of illnesses including leprosy, malaria, snake bite.
The vital Giant Milk Weed is a feeding plant to the Plain Tiger butterfly, Danaus chrysippus, and its flowers are visited by a lot of insects.
The Giant Wilkweed is a native plant of India. Its original area of distribution stretches from tropical Africa, Madagascar, the Arab Peninsula to India, Indochina and Malaysia, but as a neophyte it can now be found in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide.
http://www.treknature.com/workshops/82151/photo11396.htm
Pushkar, Rajasthan, 29 October, 2006.